


A girl in a blue dress

by AwatereJones



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alt Verse, Gen, M/M, brain fart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:19:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28063827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwatereJones/pseuds/AwatereJones
Summary: So this is a weird one that was in the back of my brain annoying me. Maybe you will get it, maybe you won't. This is a brain-buster that will either leave you nodding or shaking your head. I don't know. Personally ... i know who I blame but as the story progresses you will see that any of the players can be the cause of this hand that was dealt.
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Lisa Hallett/Ianto Jones, Rhiannon Davies & Ianto Jones, The Face of Boe/Ianto Jones
Comments: 9
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**The beginning of it all.**

**.**

The fair was in full swing as the young woman stopped at the tent, her hand pulling her small son with her in through the flaps to the dark interior.

"Welcome" the voice said softly, the gypsy woman motioning the mother into the other room near the back, the curtain falling as the boy was cut off, left standing there awkwardly holding his mother's purse.

"Over here" a voice whispered and he turned to find a little girl in a midnight blue dress covered with little sparkles like diamonds...or stars... sitting to one side at a table, shuffling cards as she watched him. "My mama will be a while with yours."

"She goes to all of them and they all tell her the same thing. Still… she goes. Always, they tell her I will die young" he huffed as he settled opposite the girl and smiled, then on impulse he held out his cotton candy to share, her face changing as she accepted his gift with surprise.

They settled to wait together.

.

.

.

"What question do you have for my spirit guide?" the gypsy woman asked.

"My son. I seek the answer that no one seems able to give. My son, my little boy out there. Will he find love?"

The Gypsy woman flipped the cards and hummed, looking intently at them as she tapped her fingernail on the edge of each, then she said softly "I cannot tell you. The message does not make sense."

"Why not?"

"Because…. Because…" the gypsy woman shrugged "It tells me that his one true love is always there with him. He already walks this earth with him. They will die together. Young. Heroes."

"He?"

"Yes. Your son belongs to another. A man…a….. oh" the Gypsy had turned another card and reared back as if struck an blinked furiously as she waved a hand over the cards, swiping them into a mess. "Sorry… I .. it was unclear. No. You son will find love. He will know true love Yes."

The mother frowned as this what happened every time.

This open fear.

.

.

.

.

"Do you want to cut the deck?"

The boy looked over at the little girl and smiled, lifting a large portion of the deck and placing it beside the other half, then to her surprise, he did it again so three towers stood.

"How did you know to do it more than once?" she asked and he shrugged. She now knew the configuration of the reading, from the cut. She laughed as she lifted a card from the top of the first cut, placing it face down without looking at it, then one from the next two towers, placing both of those under the first. Then the top card of all three, placing them in the third row.

"See? Like a Christmas tree. The top card will be the star." She giggled.

The boy looked at the triangle configuration and reached out to touch the top card but she shook her head "No. That is the last one to reveal. This is a ascending story so we start at the bottom and work our way up… like your life… it grows towards the stars."

He placed his hand back in his lap and smiled at her as she took a deep breath and turned the first car on the bottom left. A fair maiden laying asleep in a stream, her blonde hair flowing back behind her as she lay with flowers in her hair.

"The Fair maiden" she said softly. She tapped her finger on the card for a moment then reached for the next one.

A large black building, a looming castle in a barren land.

"The Tower" she said with a cant of her head, glancing at the boy and then reaching for the third. She turned the third one to pause, her eye widening as she find it to be book, open and aflame. "Betrayal. Use of information or something to trick someone."

She then tined the fourth card, the first of the two in the middle tier. She huffed as she stared at the weeping child standing before a slaughtered lamb "Betrayed."

She sat back and looked at the boy hard then reached for the next card flinging it over fast like she was getting it over with, then she snatched her hand back as Death stared at her. No need to speak, his scythe told the story of his involvement here.

"So…" the boy sighed.

"So. You will lose your first love. A Fair Maiden will lay covered with flowers." She tapped the first card clearing her throat, then tapping the second "And the tower will fall."

"At the same time?"

"Unknown. I… no. There seems a time between them but it is foggy." She frowned "they are being elusive for some reason. Weird."

"OK… so… you said betrayal for both of these" he pointed out.

"No… they are not twins. They are connected. No.. not the same. You will betray someone you love… and then someone you love will be betrayed in front of you. Blood. I see blood here."

The boy stared at her then said softly "Death."

"Yes, but he may not be connected to the other events. Or he might be part of ALL the events." She rose and waved her hand over the cards, "They are being dramatic yet… elusive for some reason. I have never seen them act as this."

The boy saw his mother coming from the back curtain, so he rose to go with her and the girl said to him "The other card. The top card. The star. The one that is connecting all of this? Don't you want to see the star on top of the tree of life?"

"You make it sound like a Christmas tree" the boy snorted.

"Maybe. You wish on a star right?"

The boy reached out and before she could stop him, he placed his hand flat on the card then said "I wish… I wish this star to be my guardian. I wish for this one to love me."

"Ianto, come on love" Jenny Jones seized her son's hand and they left the tent, the girl watching as the boy stumbled after his mother and her sharp angry moments.

Then she reached out and flipped the final card over, staring at the Hero.

She stared at the man with the handsome face, startling blue eyes and dimpled chin with surprise. She had never seen this card before, did not know it existed but here it was. A new card in her deck.

"The Hero" she said softly with confusion.

"Faith, what have you there?" her watcher asked as she walked over and Faith quickly swipped the card away, shrugging at her foster mother who had no idea how old this 'child' really was.

The Gypsy woman plucked a card off the top of the middle deck and flipped it over, then snorted "Typical. The Joker!"

She flicked it and it landed on top of the hero card that had slid over the death card. The three stacked together as if meant to be. All three had the same border, not like any others in the deck.

"Well now… look at that" she said wit wonder as she looked at the cards "The Joker, the Hero and the Thief. All here over Death's watch."

"Thief?"

"Death. Is a thief. He steals life, steals dreams and futures. Yes. The hero and the joker and the thief. Were you reading for someone? Faith? Is this a reading?" she demanded picking up the hero card with growing alarm, "Where the hell did this deck come from?"

Faith snatched back the card slamming it into the deck as she replied in a low dangerous tone "The Deck provides!"

The gypsy woman rose from the chair and moved away, alarmed and confused as the child seemed to transform for a moment into someone old, dangerous and definitely stronger than she could ever be.

Faith resumed her chair, looking at the card of the hero. A handsome man in a long greyish blue coat, his head held high and his grin infectious.

"Be you a Hero, Joker or a Thief. Witch over him like Death himself, watch over your one true love"


	2. The first card - You will lose your first love

It was two years before the circus came to town again and Ianto Jones was waiting for it, pushing into the tent to find the girl where he had left her sitting at the table. The same blue dress, ribbons in her hair this time. She looked at him and rose, recognising him as he approached the candy floss replaced with a bunch of wild flowers which pleased her more.

He sat and stared at her then let out a shuddering sigh and she knew.

She knew.

The first one had happened already.

.

.

.

.

"Ianto… we have to be quiet. Da is sleeping" Jenny said softly as she helped Rhiannon with her coat, glancing back as Ianto stood to one side, his coat on already and the small suitcase in his hands.

"But what about Da?" Rhiannon whined, pulling away from her mother to look back at the house where her father lay on the sofa.

"Da is sleeping. You know how grumpy he gets if you wake him after the pub. Don't be naughty now, let Da sleep. Come on … we have to go now" Jenny pleaded and Rhiannon looked at her Da again.

They were quiet in the evening air, Ianto watching the puff of air in front of him with each exhale like he was smoking as Jenny took the suitcase in one hand, holding him with the other and it was a while before she realised Rhiannon was no longer with them and she swung with horror to see her daughter running back towards the house.

"Oh god.. no" Jenny cried, dropping the suitcase and her son's hand to run after her daughter, calling her came softly as she tried to stop her from re-entering the house but Rhiannon was inside already.

Gone.

Ianto was unsure what to do as he stood waiting and his mother seemed to slow, then swing to start running back toward him with open fear.

Ianto knew.

He picked up the suitcase and started to run, his mother not far behind as a faint bellow started in the house. Da was awake. Rhiannon had woken him.

Ianto turned to run across the lawn for the track that ran down along the side of the river but it came to him in a flash. The card. The fair Maiden in the water and he changed his direction moving away from the water.

The dreams he had suffered of his mother in the water, her hair fanning out had plagued him for the last few nights and he was sure now. He had to run.

Da yelled again, closer somehow and Mama yelled as well. "Run darling!"

Ianto thought they might make it. Get to the main street through the alleyway and be rid of him but his yelling was getting so close. So near.

They spilled into the street full of people and Ianto slowed, relieved as he knew Da could not touch them and he turned to found his mother behind him, her face full of fear as she looked back at him, Da so close. So close.

The car came out of nowhere, slamming Jenny into the building as Ianto's father cried out with horror, watching his wife die.

Ianto stopped running, the suitcase hitting the sidewalk as he stood unable to breathe. Move. He saw a Police box in the distance and wondered if he should call someone.

"FUCK!" a voice yelled with anger, "You fucking animal!"

Ianto watched a man run to the car and yank out a… something. Ianto blinked. Another man ws calling out to the man in the coat, telling him to calm down.

Everyone was around the car, trying to help Ianto's mother who was already dead. He knew this. The cards had foretold it right? Instead he watched the man in the long coat struggle with the man who was not a man at all.

Ianto felt nothing but a heavy fatality of fate.

.

.

..

"I am so sorry" Faith said as she watched Ianto fiddle with the cloth covering her table.

Ianto reached out and plucked a card from the deck, turning it over to look at and she started with shock as the Hero beamed out at them.

"Turn the next one" she whispered.

The Joker.

"Another."

The Thief.

"One more."

"It will be death. He is always with me" Ianto said angrily, snatching it up and flinging it down so death now lay over the card, not under them as in the first shuffle two years ago.

Faith picked up the four cards the she picked up the other three to find them the others for the original reading. All seven there as if waiting for him. Shed reached across the table, handing them to Ianto "These are your cards. the Hero. The Joker. The Thief. Death. Betrayer and betrayed. The Fair Maiden. All seven of these cards are yours. The Deck keeps giving them to you. I have not seen them before or since our last meeting."

Ianto accepted them and placed him in his pocket, the warmth of them against his hip a surprise as he stared at her then said softly as he placed a twenty pound bill on the table "Thank you Faith. Blessing to you."

"And to you" she replied with delight.

Ianto left with no intention of ever seeing her again. But deep down he knew he would. After all … he had lost his first love right?

He found himself in the graveyard standing over the grave of his mother and he crouched to place the fresh flowers on the grave, adding them to those he placed there every day. The small jobs he took to gain the money to tend to her not enough but all he could do to honour her.

His mother covered in flowers as she lay in Meadowbrook Cemetery.


	3. The second card - The tower will fall

"Ianto… come on" Lisa laughed as she poked her foot at her boyfriend. Ianto was on the floor going over the things on the floor changing out some old tins of food for fresh as he restocked his go-bag. "Sweetie, I am sure these Ghost shifts are not gonna cause Armageddon."

"I just… can't we just go on a little hiking trip? Like we used to before you got that bloody job there in hat fucking place?" Ianto muttered.

"Must I remind you that YOU work there too?" she laughed.

"Only to be close to you" Ianto huffed, sitting back on his heels "Trust me to fall in love with the beautiful woman in the glass tower."

"Well… there you go. Calling me a princess again! I am no princess ya cretin!" she laughed as she kicked at him again.

"Of course not" Ianto replied as he saw her annoyance grow "You are my Queen. MY sexy black Queen."

Lisa's face softened as she slid from the sofa to the floor, into his arms and they made love there in the middle of Ianto's desperate attempt to save them from whatever was about to happen.

Lisa's argument on the Gypsy theory was that there had been a tower event. The Twin Towers… remember? No matter how much he argued that it was not something that changed his life she argued that it did. It was after the 9/11 attacks that she decided to get real about her future and moved to London where she met Ianto. A positive thing. Not all the predictions had to be negatives right? Surely, this was a positive?

Yet from the moment Ianto had been transferred from the downtown offices to the Canary Warf Building he had known. Deep down that dull ache, that itch like something is crawling around under your scalp. He had known. And he prepared. Whether she liked it or not.

Someone has to be serious here.

He had lost his first love… he was not about to lose another in the fall of that glass tower.

.

.

.

He knew he was too late.

His hands slipped on the framework, the blood made everything slippery but he did not have time to wipe his hands as he yanked at the bed, the makeshift wheels making a grinding noise that warned him that soon they would not be able to support the weight of the bed anymore.

He just had to get her to the parking level.

All around him was chaos, screaming and moaning, the stench of death in the air. Also… those piles of dust he was dragging the bed through, the trolley jack underneath supposed to be used to move large filing cabinets running over piles of dust …. over what he knew had been people once upon a time.

"And it shall be like ashes in our mouths" Ianto said to himself, panting as he stopped and slumped against the wall for a moment.

"Ianto"

"It's OK love. We are nearly there" Ianto found the strength to reply to the weak moan of his lover, pushing off from the wall and he hesitated as he saw a flash of a suit, then he wordlessly pointed as the man looked at him and nodded, continuing on his way to find his own love.

"Who… what…"

"Yeah. Who" Ianto seized the bed's metal siding and heaved again, making the large thing move and he knew if he could just get her into the elevator he could get her to the van used to transporting artefacts.

The keys heavy in his pocket.

The ding of the doors opening had him sobbing with relief and he forced her in even as she started to cry out with pain from the jolting of the bed against the doors, then back wall.

"Sorry love" he whispered, pulling another syringe of pain meds from the kit and he checked nervously to see how much was left. Enough. Enough. Right?

He had her to the van and now he knew time was almost up, the sound of the building groaning around him like a large beast in its death throes. He did not care about those he left behind, did not care about the burns and cut to his own body, he only cared to save her. To win. To beat the curse laid on him by that little girl so long ago.

He can do this.

Right?

But… where to go.

Ianto drove up the ramp out into the light of the day. A normal day with blue skies, still waters and… life.

He stopped the van and leaned over the steering wheel, letting himself cry for a moment then he straightened up and looked at a man striding across the street… right in front of him, arms flying as he argued with a member if UNIT, the other man in a white coat keeping pace was vaguely familiar even if the man in the Great Coat was more so…. Fuck.

Ianto knew where to take her.

A small window, a short space of time when they were all preoccupied. He had to act now, hope for the best and prepare for the worst as he stomped his foot down and drove for Cardiff.

Get her in.

Then get himself in.

Win.

Yeah. This could work right?

He just needed a little Faith.


	4. Third and/or Fourth

**The Third card – You will betray someone you love …. or is it….**

**the Fourth Card – The one you love will be Betrayed … or both?**

Ianto stood there in the water pool looking around the Hub with that feeling of finality. With a soft groan he reached out to hook the grating and yank on it, ignoring the scream of his ribs.

He then turned the grating so it matched the rest of it. Three more pieces around the hub were in the wrong way. The groves not running true and it was driving him mad as he stomped the grating down and straightened up to hold his side. And look straight into the eyes of Owen Harper. Doctor Harper thanks very much! Prickface.

"You finished there?"

"With this one, yes" Ianto stammered.

"Right. Get me a coffee"

Ianto walked out of the water pool and trudged towards the kitchen, the trail of water after him as he squelched in his shoes soon sliding into the grating. Wrong running grating.

Four more.

Ianto saw another one out the corner of his eye and grumbled to himself that he was never getting the floors synchronised again. Owen's 'make it fit by jumping on it' routine made each grating harder and harder to pull up.

Especially without help.

Five more.

Damn it.

Not that he deserved any help right? Almost destroyed the world. Weird really. He thought the fall of Canary Warf and Yvonne's glass tower would be Armageddon and he was so prepared for that but… it wasn't. This is it. The end of the world right?

He glanced up at the office window to find Jack there staring down at him, Gwen fucking Cooper there clinging to his cuff like she was asking him for pocket money. He knew they were talking about him. The betrayer.

The failure.

The fool.

Ianto's' hand went to the cards in his wallet, the water damage to the other contents seemed to not have touched those cards. Not that he looked too closely, he tried not to look at them at all. Not now he knew the terrible, awesome power of these cards. The Hero. The Joker. The Thief. Death. The Fair Maiden and the tower already having come to pass. Now the child weeping before the slaughtered lamb finally made sense. He had betrayed the one he loved.

Right?

But then… the burning book.

Ianto has stood and watched the flames of Ferdinand the Furnace as he devoured Lisa's body. Her personal effects. The book he had been reading to her every night before he went up to Jack's office for a night cap and… some touching that he knew was definitely a betrayal of the one he loved.

But still… She has said the Burning Book meant HIS love was betrayed by HIM. So.. was Lisa the Lamb? Or the book? Which card? Both?

Ianto looked up at the office window again, Jack's eyes meeting his and for a moment he felt the knife to his gut again as he saw the hurt in Jack's expression along with the still split lip from the punch Ianto had delivered in his vain attempt to save Lisa.

Who has he betrayed tonight?

Lisa?

Or Jack!

As Ianto stood there he recalled the Book came before the Lamb. The betrayer before the betrayal right? Ianto would betray someone he loves, and then he would see someone he loves betrayed. Well… ain't that a two for one scenario? Has it not played out. Did he not betray Lisa? No. Jack. He betrayed Jack with Lisa.. even though deep down each tome he felt Jack's hands on hoim he knew he ws betraying her. His must be it right?

He sighed, rubbing his face as his brain fired on too many cylinders. He wondered if he might spontaneously explode…. Or implode and create a black hole of dark matter… eating the world.

He kind of liked that idea of watching the world destroy itself, settling on the seat to watch the coffee machine warm up and retrieve those cards. Those still pristine cards. He fanned them out and stared at them, especially the Hero.

Hello Jack.

Ianto sighed. The Hero was Jack's face. Jack. He had betrayed Jack. So… he was both right? The one who was betrayed and betrayer.

"Fuck" he said out loud, rising to throw the cards away but as he mixed the blend Owen liked he most he found himself slipping those cards back into his pocket, turning to find Owen behind him staring at him silently.

"Katie. My Lisa, her name was Katie. An alien in her brain, hidden there disguised as a brain tumour. Killed her and the entire surgical team trying to save her. Jack tried to stop them, he tried to warn them but… well… can't always be the hero right?" Owen said as he accepted the cup of coffee.

"Sometimes Owen, it's better to be nothing at all" Ianto replied softly as he slid past him with a coffee mug for Jack and Owen turned to watch him go with a soft sigh.

For once, he knew exactly what Ianto meant there.

Jack would forgive him.

Owen knew he would too.

In the end… it was Ianto who was betrayed by that machine pretending to be Lisa.

Jack had explained it to the team as Ianto scrubbed that room out. Ianto was like an innocent little puppy dog and that machine had seen it. Like a lamb to the slaughter.

Or a bloody good liar.


	5. the Fourth Card – The one you love will be Betrayed

OK.

Ianto sat on the grating and knew what it was now.

This is it.

What she meant by twins but not. Right? Betrayer and betrayal. Or whatever.

Owen was pacing like a madman, his breath on short bursts as he paced the partially destroyed Hub not looking at anyone as the gun swung loosely in his good hand. The sling for the arm of the shoulder Ianto had shot not still either.

"You will shoot yourself in the foot it you don't calm down" Gwen said softly. her own face slack with grief. "One gunshot would a day please."

"Calm down!" Owen swung to face her "CALM DOWN! ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?"

"Me? You're the one who shot Jack in the head!" she yelled back, slapping her own head with her fist for emphasis.

"Stop it" Toshiko tired to clam everyone down "Ianto… are you going to go sit with Jack?"

"No. I am" Gwen rose with a sniff "He chose me, remember? I never lied to him!"

"I think it was so Ianto could be clear of it and not see his pain" Toshiko argued but this was an argument that had been going on for over an hour since they had returned from Abbadon's rampage. "Maybe he wanted to save Ianto and you were expendable?"

Ianto didn't care anymore.

These fucking cards in his top pocket =burned a steamy hole through his heart anyway. Betrayer/betrayed. The team had betrayed Jack. Ianto had been the only one who did not attack him, the only one forced to stand and watch Jack fall. God. Losing Lisa had hurt almost as much as losing his sweet mama all those years ago but nothing compared to this.

Jack was dead.

Like… fully.

Once Gwen was situated over Jack's corpse like a lovelorn sweetheart Ianto felt the urge to leave them to it. These weeping two-faced arseholes who had been the ones to cause all of this, suddenly repentant?

Ianto wondered if they would consider Ianto's previous indiscretion. At least HIS one did not destroy half the fucking city right?

Ianto opted for cleaning up the mess, taking the trash down to the furnace and adding for a while as he tried to stop the stupid tears. He should not have smelt that coat. That lovely Great Coat. Why had he done that? Why punish himself?

Jack was gone.

Ianto sat and pulled those cards out, looking at them long and hard. He had long since recognised Jack as the Hero. The likeness almost profound ad he wondered how Faith knew him, to have created a card of him like this. He turned to the next card. His mother, laying there in repose. Sweet Mama. Then that horrible, derelict tower. He then found the two he was looking for. Betrayer and Betrayed.

The book.

Ianto looked closer, tipping the card so it shifted and shone in the half-light of the furnace room's glow. The light of the fire helping as he examined it. He had thought it was a dictionary or maybe even a bible but now… now he was able to make out some sort of picture burning.

A disc of some sort? A wheel maybe?

He frowned and tipped to slightly another way, the picture now words. Did it read as 'Upgrade or die? He wondered if he was losing his damned mind. Looking for things that were not there at all, right? He lifted the card again, looking with a squint to find the picture hidden beneath the nonsensical words.

A pizza.

Ianto rose with horror, flinging the card at the furnace before he could stop himself only to find it boomerang around to land at his feet like a loyal dog. Ianto decided to ignore the little prick and instead looked at it's not-twin.

Betrayed.

He had thought it ws a lamb. After all, he kept thinking these pictures were somehow biblical but now knew they were not. With this thought in mind he looked at the lamb. It was a goat. Horns. With a sickening clarity Ianto recounted a fluffy version of Abbadon, horns… hooves. Right?

The boy kneeling with his head hung in sorrow over the dead creature was in a dark coat, his shiny shoes and hair flopping forward. Ianto had always thought it was him but knowing the trick the other card played, he employed it again. He tilted and twisted. He strained and squinted.

A gun.

There, nestled against the knee of the figure, the folds of the coat… Jack's Webley.

Ianto shook his head as he now knew the boy was Jack. Jack had sacrificed himself to the demon and he was both the boy and the goat. But not. Jack was a child in this one. The sorrow of loss raw but Ianto felt a deep regret. A deep hurt. And the goat/lamb? When Ianto tipped it just right it was no longer a little white baby creature.

No.

Its pelt was grey.

Grey? What did that have to do with something sacrificed?

Ianto sighed and let his head fall back against the wall as he went over the things to be done. The arrangements to be made and as he rose from the seat he heard a faint yell from Owen for coffee.

Some things are a constant I guess.

Like Jack coming back.

Ianto could only hope this means the betrayal part is over.

Jack was not going to leave him again, right?

As Ianto bent to retrieve the card the next one glinted under the lights and it seemed to move, moving forward a step.

Death.

He was never going anywhere either… creeping closer.


	6. The Hero

"Hey, did ya miss me?"

Ianto sighed as he lowered the pulse rifle and forced a sarcastic smile, the real one flickering long enough for Jack to see it and know Ianto was happy he was back in one piece.

"Come on… be honest. You thought I was going to leave with him again" Jack laughed, skipping down the steps as Gwen looked up from the Darlek she was calmly destroying.

"So. The planets are back in alignment, the Doctor has swanned off in his grinding box and ... what now?" Ianto asked as Jack pulled him close. The kiss sweet as well and slightly demeaning. Someone was needy.

"Well… maybe you can tell me who that man was who called you Captain Cheesecake?" Ianto asked as he leaned into jack and smiled softly, letting their moths meet in a searing kiss. Jack laughed as he patted Ianto's arse and then pulled away leaving Ianto feeling the cold of the sudden loss.

"Gwen! What did you do here, the redecorating is really getting extreme! I may have to exterminate this!" Jack laughed as he started to twirl Gwen around the Hub and Ianto sat back with a mixture of relief and confusion.

Death had not won this time. Seriously? Finally, Death was the next card and… what. Ianto didn't lose someone? That is… unsettling. This was not it? They jumped straight to the Hero card. Jack prancing about camping all over the place saving lives, moving planets… literally while the Doctor ran. Or… had Jack died at some stage? Was that it?

This can't be it, can it?

Seriously? I guess Jack did die a few times but… Jack always died. Lived. Grinned like that and then pulled away. Ianto settled on the sofa as Gwen and Jack laughed, talking animatedly while Ianto pulled out the cards to look at one more time.

Fair Maiden.

Tower.

Betrayer.

Betrayed.

Death.

Hero.

Joker.

Ianto sat and stared at these cards for the longest time as he finally wondered if he ws looking at them all wrong. The entire time it had been wrong. Death was there all the time. As was the Hero… and the … wait. No. Mama died and… Ianto leaned back and remembered that car slamming her into the wall, the screaming as people rushed to help. The man pulling that driver out to pummel him yelling 'Look what you did' in an American accent…. Holy shit. Jack. Jack was there for … was he at Canary Warf? Ianto wracked his brain, remembering seeing the Torchwood 3 SUV that told him Cardiff's the Cardiff base was clear to sneak Lisa in. Yes. Jack was there.

Of course he was there for the not-twins. So… here we are. Here again.

Ianto looked at the Hero card and the Death card remembering the Joker card came with them. These three were a set. Like the bot-twins right? Wait… the Joker ws a separate one?

Or were they ALL connected.

An alien killed his mama and Jack was there. Lisa was killed by an alien and Jack was there. The Alien tired to break free and Jack was there. They released Abbadon and Jack was there. And now, a hero was needed and Jack… wait. Death. Toshiko and Owen? Or does it refer to all of Jack's sacrifices?

Ianto had always thought, deep down that the death was his own but what if it wasn't? This was still not clear to him as he tried to comprehend the story.

What did the Joker have to do with any of this?

Ianto folded the deck, slipping it onto his pocket as he rose to face his two teammates.

"I don't know about you two, but I need a bloody pint after all that!" he huffed "I need a better deodorant too."

Jack laughed stepping in close to kiss Ianto gently before saying in his ear "you smell great to me."

"Yeah yeah" Ianto smiled as he pulled away, satisfied to see the surprise on Jack's face. Yeah, Ianto can step back too!

"Come on you two, lover's spat later. I need a bloody pint and a burger!"

"God, me too" Ianto smiled as he followed Gwen out into the chaos that was Earth.

.

..

"Why did you call me here?" he asked, looking at the little girl in her Goth style gypsy dress, her hair in little plats as she looked up at him with those old eyes.

"Something comes this way and you will not like it. Something you can't stop" she said as she rose and ran her hand over her dress "You know it stalks you in the darkness, it will step into the light and there is nothing you can do about it."

Jack stood frowning at Faith as he tried to work this out, warnings not her usual fare. "Faith… I am ready for anything!"

"Not this" she shook her head sadly "Sorry Captain, the cards are never wrong and soon… soon the darkness will consume you."

"Abbadon already came, I won. Darleks came… a few times now… I won. Come on …" Jack laughed striking his hero pose.

"Oh Jack. I am sorry" Faith shook her head, "this was foretold a long time ago. There is nothing I can do to stop this. For the Joker is in play and if there is one thing I know about the Joker… he is a fickle Trickster."

Jack shook his head and began to walk away, confused as hell as to why this ancient entity was talking this way. Riddles were her thing but… damn. This was weird.

Faith watched him go as she knew the last cards still needed to be played.

"I am sorry Jack. The Hero has yet to show himself"


	7. Death

Ianto knew.

Deep down in his gut he knew.

Jack was still in denial, yelling at people and freaking out, trying to save everyone while still looking for that sword to throw himself on as Ianto stood there, already knowing the outcome. He waited for Jack to finally pause, turn to him, seize him and tell him it was OK before saying softly "I already breathed the air."

Something in Jacks' eyes… that flicker. That moment where he betrayed himself with his feelings and Ianto saw it. That thing he had craved so long, that thing he had started to think did not exist between them.

Ianto saw despair.

Jacks eyes widened softly, took on a pained expression for the first time. The man with the plan… had none.

So he stood wit confusion, shock and a dull acceptance as they both waited for whatever was to happen next. Based on the faint klaxons and the sounds of screaming and chaos as people panicked and Ianto knew it was not going to be long now.

Ianto felt his body start to give up, finding himself on the floor, Jack holding him as he implored him not to go. Not to leave him.

Such a bitter sweet moment to see that Jack meant it.

Ianto felt foolish the moment he choked out 'I love you' and saw Jack's panic grow before the sobbed 'Don't' was returned and for a moment he thought that Jack meant that he didn't love him back, then the crushing reality that Jack was telling him not to leave still.

Had he even heard the words over his own grief?

Grief.

Ianto hoped Gwen had Rhiannon and the kids safe, hoped that at least they had tried and if this was the end of all things, this was their final hurrah, at least he was dying in the way he had always wanted.

In the arms of the one je loved.

Ianto's' last conscious thought was that Jack was kissing him.

That little tickle in the bottom of his stomach, those butterflies seemed to want to die last as Jack made Ianto feel that surge of passion for a moment before the black washed over him and he wondered idly as he started to slip away if he might see Jack for a moment over on the other side before he whooshes back to life.

Who knows.

Right?

And so he was, the fair maiden in the arms of his lover, looking at a glass tower. Betraying a promise to stay safe, betrayed by a farting alien and Death was finally here as the hero could do nothing to stop this. Maybe… maybe this was funny…maybe….the…joker…

.

.

.

"What's going on?" Ianto demands, confused.

Jack sighs. "There is a secret hidden underneath the rift, a shadow from the oldest universe of all, Siriath, the Death Feeder. She's been trapped since before there were such a thing as Time."

"And she's found a way to escape?"

"Yeah! Everything's in alignment. At the right place, at the right time, comes the right woman."

Ianto worked I out. Mrs Wintergreen. A powerful psychic holding a séance in the most haunted pub in Wales. "The House of the Dead, built on ley lines, inside an old stone circle, and smack on top of the rift. Right, if anything would work, that would do it."

Ianto watched the people at the table and knew this was some weird but real thing "this it real, isn't it?"

"Yes it is." Jack said, sad. Why is he sad?

"Is there a Ianto Jones among us?"

"That's me."

"I have a message from his father."

"What?"

"Betrayal".

Ianto worked it out alright. Pretty damned fast. Those fucking cards. "Jack? Who's dead?"

"The person I knew I'd find if I came here to the last night of the House of the Dead. Ianto Jones."  
"Ianto, six months ago, you died in my arms. You're a ghost. I came looking for you. I couldn't resist. I didn't think you'd be so real. I ... I had hoped for less."

"Thanks." Ianto was not sure how to feel about this, feeling anger rising now.

"No, you don't understand. I thought it would just look like you."

"It!"

"I could have coped with that. I didn't dream it would actually _be_ you. Siriath used my grief and she reached into Time. She recreated you, Ianto, and I ... Oh ... I can't bear to look at you."

"How did I…. I mean…"

"You were one of the first victims of an alien plague." Jack gave a sad Laugh. "You were so brave. You died saving the world."

"Well, you'd think I'd remember that. But I don't. Did I get a funeral?"

"I don't know. I wasn't here." Jack admitted "I had to leave. I am sorry."

"You couldn't leave me rest in peace. You've done this to me. Dragged me back just to say goodbye. This ... this isn't about closing the rift, destroying that creature or even your bloody stones! It's not even about me. This ... this is all about you, Jack." Ianto is pissed now "What were you hoping for? That I'd say a few nice words, that I'd be grateful?"

"I just wanted to see you one more time. that's all. It's ... it's why I came here." Jack begs him "Ianto, all the people I've lost. Don't you understand? The only one I wanted to see was you! I had to see you again. You have no idea what it felt like coming back to life and knowing the world was empty, because you'd gone. No matter how many times I die, I always wake up alone."

"I didn't ask to come back."

"Neither did I! Hah ... you and me, Ianto Jones, together again at the end. How it should be. In a few seconds, Siriath will rise, I'll trigger this device destroying her and sealing the rift forever." Jac sas as he lifts a small box.

"You're not planning on coming back, are you?" Jack feels the shift in his gut.

"No. It'll be a pretty big bang."

"You can't die."

"Next best thing. Eternal oblivion, lost in the space between worlds forever - and come on, it's quite a way to go. Huh! I think I'd lived long enough. I've seen you once more, what else it's there?"

"Well, we could just go".

"What?" Jack is confused now. "Never. You're kidding, right? You mean leave here?"

"Why not try it? The rift, ancient evil, magic pebbles ... just for once, let's someone else deal with it."

"Can we do that?" Jack asks with raw hope ""Well ... it'll never work. We cross that door, we will be back in the real world. What if you vanish? What ... what'll happen?"

"That's no reason for not trying. Seems a shame you know, to get me back only to lose me again. A touch careless." Ianto shrugs.

"True. Siriath, the last remnant of a dead universe. Ah, she's not so special. But there's only one Ianto Jones."

"And there's only ever been one Captain Jack Harkness."

"Hah! Huh! Oh, screw it! Worth a try. Let's leave the device here for Siriath." Jack laughs softly even as debris is falling. "We'd better go now."

"Cross that doorway and there's no coming back." Ianto warns with thunder rumbling, rain falling. He seizes Jack and kisses him, revelling in that taste that… butterfly moment.

"Why would I want to? I've got you back, Ianto. Let's do this. Come on Ianto. Be brave." Jack steps out and swing his arms wide, turning to embrace him "Welcome back to the land of the living, Ianto Jones. Has it worked? Are you real again? Ianto? ... Ianto?"

"I'm not coming."

"Ianto, no, come on. There's still time."

"No, Jack. You know I can't. My place is here, in the House of the Dead, with your device, saving the world."

"Don't do this!"

"Sorry, Jack. Someone's got to destroy the rift." Ianto feels such sharp pain as Jack's face crumbles "It's quite a way to go."

"No! Not like this! Don't leave me like this!" Jack sobs "Ianto, no! I never said it properly before."

"It doesn't need saying."

"Yes, it does. Ianto Jones, I love you."

"And I love you too, Jack. Right then, let's get a move on. Goodbye, Jack!" Ianto closes his eyes as he hits the button and executes his one final betrayal.

Explosion, debris falling, silence

The joke was on him.


	8. The Joker

Ianto sat in mild shock as he looked around the place he found himself in.

The room was stark, bland and seemed to be…well… seamless. Like a cube. Ianto wondered if it wss a cube of ice and he was frozen in it, certainly cold enough as he reached out to run his fingers over the surface and he felt a soft warmth, the room starting to glow and change like he had somehow woke it up.

Then a door flew open and a man stood there with a look of absolute shock. "How did you get there?"

"No idea" Ianto answered truthfully "Last thing I remember I was blowing up the Hose of the Dead and … well… this is a strange afterlife."

"Ah. Wait… I know you" the tall, thin grey haired man shook a finger at Ianto and Ianto rose to brush off his clothing and he was about to introduce himself when the grey haired man who looked a little like an aging rock star beat him to it "Ianto Jones!"

"Yes."

"It's me. The Doctor! Well, one of the many faces. You've know a few of my faces, yes? Hah! Yes, I know you! Ianto Jones. You are Jack's man, right? The one he likes the most. Talks about you a lot when the Hypervodka has him in its grip. Well now… what may I to do with you." The Doctor tapped a finger to his mouth as he contemplated and Ianto felt a bubble of hysteria.

"I died. I died, Jack brought me back to say goodbye and I tricked him into letting me die again. Now I am here and nothing makes sense. These bloody cards!" Ianto hissed pulling them from his pocket where he knew without even looking they would be.

The Doctor stepped forward, a noise of interact as he held out his hand "May I?"

Ianto handed them over and the Doctor looked at them with interest "Fair Lover, Tower, Betrayal, Betrayed, Hello Jack… here is Death and the Hero. Look at that likeness… and then … ah. ME!" he chortled as he held the final card, his delight raw as he shook the card "Look! I get a card too. How about that. These are Faith's right? That little minx and that deck of hers. Damned creepy."

Ianto just stared at him, his confusion now to the point of brain meltingly loud. A buzz in his head.

"You see… the fair maiden… that could mean Rose. I lost her in the Tower, she went to another dimension all tighter you see at Canary Warf. Betrayer and Betrayed, again could be me. Then we have Death... well… we know each other intimately and then we have Jack here. And I am the wild card. I think I am more of a Trickster than a Joker though, right? You see that is the thing with these cards. Sentient things that play tricks on you. See? Look. The Fair Maiden resemble someone you know but as I hold them they change slightly. See? Rose. It's her now. The tower didn't change so… you knew that place too eh?" he Doctor spoke so fast with such excitement that Ianto could barely keep up but he nodded as the Doctor continued "Betrayer and Betrayed. Not-Twins. Again me. I have to lie… I always lie. That's rule number one with me, I always lie. Fascinating. Look at the lamb… see? Was it something else for you…hmmmm….ah…a goat for you? It's a puppy for me. And the book… well… I don't know what you saw but I see Gallifrey in it… and … oh. Jack is still Jack I am afraid and Death is always death. But the Joker … that is definitely me."

"But what does it all mean!" Ianto finally got a word in edgeways. What the hell is all of this anyway?" Ianto demanded, "I died. Twice now so... what is this?"

"The Wild Card" the Doctor said slyly "Me. I am time and space yet… outside it. Non-twins. Space and time. See? Ah, Ianto Jones. Did you never turn them over and look at the back of the cards?"

"Yes, just these random symbols and designs?" Ianto said as he did so.

"Ah. No. That is Gallifreyan. Circles within circles and little bibs and bobs… these are the written language of space and time." The Doctor roared with mirth and he then said "lets start again. The Fair Maiden. Let's read the back of it … it says … loss."

"Fair enough."

"The tower… the back reads … cold as glass. Right, so it IS Canary Warf. Interesting, right so… the not-twins. Betray and betrayed, lets flip them together ah…see? Thought so. The words on their own mean nothing but tougher they tell the tale." He chortled, "See? One says Yen and the other says Yang. Cheeky beggars. They are saying that they go together. See? Right… Death. He is ….huh… it says.. repeat offender."

Ianto blinked as the Doctor stared at the card then flipped over Jack's to start to giggle softly.

"What?" Ianto asked blandly, ready to slap him.

"It says… it says… repeat offender" the Doctor laughed, leaning back "Oh my god, they are cheeky. And the last one, the Joker. Let's….oh."

"Don't tell me. It says your name" Ianto huffed "Is it? Is that how you spell Theta?"

The Doctor silently turned on his heel to stare at Ianto, his face unreadable as he said softly "No. It says 'boom boom' actually."

"What?" Ianto snatched the card and shook it, then turned it over and the Doctor seized his wrist.

"Don't' move!" he hissed leaning over it "It says… well look at that. Now it says 'Enigma' so… I was not the owner of this card at all. You are."

"Me? There is nothing funny about me Doctor, I assure you" Ianto huffed reaching for the card and slipping them together as the Doctor stared at him long and hard then finally smiled.

"Faith."

"What?"

"Faith chose you. The Deck chose you. Jack chose you. This sexy machine chose you. Don't' you see? Fate is a fickle thing and the Cards of Fate have spoken. You are the Wild Card mister Jones. Come on."

"Come in? Here now?" Ianto groaned softly "Back for a matter of minutes and already I wanna shoot myself!"


	9. The Cards of Fate

Faith was sitting primly behind her table, the candle flickering as she watched it with heavily lidded eyes as the Hero approached, placing the cards on the table, settling to look back at her with that old world air about him. His partner settled next to him with a soft smile of greeting.

"Hello again" she said softly.

"Hello Faith." He replied with a soft smile "I understand now. This was a journey I had to undertake to get to the pinnacle, right? The Christmas star? The top of the pyramid so to speak… to find the Hero I had to go through all that."

"Yes. Look at the cards" she said, watching as Jack looked at the deck Ianto was now gently turning over in the order of their original reading.

"Right. First was the Fair Maiden. My mother."

"Or Rose" Jack agreed leaning forward, "the Doctor said that right?"

Faith snorted softly and Ianto looked at her long and hard, then groaned as he picked up the card and tipped it, squinting to see what he had missed.

Stupid.

There it was.

Standing in the trees, watching the pretty maiden in repose was a man. His coat blowing back in the breeze. "There he is. There all along."

"Yes" she nodded. Ianto then picked up the tower one, doing the same and smiling now as he saw the man again, this time hand in hand with a girl running away. He was starting to see that he had not read them at all. Not really.

"The book" Jack did this one, tipping his head back as well, looking down his nose and Ianto watched as Jack frowned then said softly "A journal? Ianto… this is your journal? You know… a tape measure…"

Ianto snatched the card and looked, frowning now as he saw that he had missed the colour of the cover and the gold edged pages. This was his book.

Jack leaned over the sacrificial lamb and canted his head, then said "Awwwww, look at that. Keeping watch over his sweetling while he sleeps."

Ianto looked at him like he was mad, then looked again. He had simply expected the lamb or goat thing to be dead. A sacrifice but as he looked he now saw that the hair on the child was not black… but … ah. It was him, not Jack kneeling there. The Burberry close to a Great Coat I guess but he should have seen the split at the side, not to the back.

"So… let me get this straight. I am in every card… wait. No I am not. The Hero. Jack!" Ianto flourished that one "Only him."

"Look in the reflection of the armour to see who he smiles at like that" she giggled and Ianto began to laugh as he saw the suited figure clearly.

Oh my god. Are you… I am in every… wait. The joker!" Ianto flicked that one over and looked at her with a new confusion "This is not me or Jack. This face is unknown to ether of us!"

"For now" Faith agreed, reaching out to tap the cards "The first one, you helped the one called Rose when she was pinned down under fire and that was when your life stream began to intersect with Jack, and the Joker. See? That is you in the tree line, behind you, a little blue box. He is there too."

Ianto stared at Faith as Jack picked up the card and squinted "The suited man isn't Ianto… it's the Doctor right?"

"Yes. Ianto is not in the card. This is the first one, when Ianto is looking at them" Faith agreed as she canted her head "The beginning is where they met. They do both like to wear a good suit."

Jack stared at her as Ianto tapped the cards "So… the tower, me with Lisa here running away. The book is my story. The betraying and Betrayed is me watching over Lisa I guess and I let her down?"

"Is that her? Who else do you kneel by, watch over with such devotion?" she canted her head, then looked pointedly at Jack who grinned "Your hero? Did he betry you? Did you him?"

"OK… but where does Death come into it?" Ianto asked, only to have her erupt with peals of laughter as she pointed at them both, then Ianto sighed with annoyance as she saw that it ws indeed a stupid question.

"Look… in one hand he has his scythe right? What is in the other one?"

"On hour glass" Ianto frowned, still annoyed.

"Time" she nodded.

Jack was now getting it, even if Ianto hadn't and he leaned forward to tap the cards "Right. The first card is Ianto looking at the doctor and Rose. The second card is Canary Warf falling, when they lost one another. Then we have the journal. A story book, right? Could be the book of life. We have Ianto watching over me and then we have a reminder that time haunts us as well as death. Then we have me… in armour that is polished by Ianto I assume which brings us to the Joker. I am guessing… it's the Doctor. A face we do not know yet he is there all along as well right?"

Faith looked over at Ianto and asked pointedly "Who is your father?"

"Me Da is the bastard known as Ifan Jones."

"No. It's not." She shook her head and then waved a hand "Did you not turn the cards over to see their back?"

"The Gallifreyan, yes." Ianto frowned, Jack blinking slowly.

"These cards were given to me by a being known as the Face of Boe and he said one day I will meet a boy who will become a man that possesses all the traits of the cards provided in his reading. He told me to be wary of what I say, to let time be the teacher and when he retunes with his one true love, only then will I be able to read the cards effectively."

"The Face of Boe?" Jack said softly "The all knowing one?"

"Yes." Faith nodded "And now I see that I could never read this deck before. It is not one to be read at all… it is a story to be told."


	10. The Final Reading

"OK" she clapped her hands and took a deep breath then said softly "Both of you, hold hands and place your other hand either side of the row of cards. I will now tell you a story."

Both men complied and waited as she cleared her throat and then began to speak.

"Once upon a time there was a fair maiden called Rose who was the one true love of Theta. There was a third emember of their pack, like… a companion. Yes. Jack. They both loved him too. For this story is about him!"

"What?" Jack and Ianto both spluttered.

"Hush!" she demanded. "Right. The suited man in the background and behind him the box. Ianto knows these two now, but the box… it holds their sweet Jack inside. Then we go to the tower… you all think it is Canary Warf but it is not. This is a high rise building and Jack is running away with Rose after … something to do with pigs? Pig men?"

"Shit." Jack said to himself.

"Then the journal. This is where Jack reads about himself, in the eyes of another and sees that he is misrepresenting himself, sees that someone sees though his fake bravado yet loves him still. Then we have the one who watches over Jack, the one who sacrifices himself over and over again. Death is the timekeeper of all things, also a vicious punisher when need be and he is always with Jack, in the shadows. Then we have the Hero. Jack front and centre smiling at his other half, the reflection is Ianto. Yes. Of course the real tell is this one. The Joker. This was not part of the reading, not part of the pyramid at all yet… it inserted itself, made sure it was there. This face… this face IS known to you both, you just have not met him yet."

"So... it is a face of the Doctor?" Ianto asked "the one behind all of this? The card backings?"

"No" Faith said gently reaching out to place a hand on each man's that was on the table, the action sealing them and slamming them all into a vision of another place and time.

Ianto was laughing, standing there with his arms folded as he yelled at Jack for something, Jack yelling back with equal exuberance as he held the hands of a little boy, helping him walk on his little toddler legs towards Ianto.

Jack's piercing blue eyes, wide grin yet Ianto's hair colouring and chin.

The little one smiled up at Ianto and in a flash his face superimposed over the face of the joker card, before she snatched her hands back with surprise "Oh. That… I did not expect. I thought is would be a face of the Doctor."

"Our son" Jack said softly "We… we will have a child who will be the Joker."

"So… the story does not end" she agreed. "The cards speak to you both, tells a story of both of you here in the end, the one card that is not part of the pyramid, yet demands attention is the next chapter to your story."

"I was destined to die there in Thames house, destined to be brought back in the House of the Dead only to… what. Sire a son?" Ianto looked at Jack "You said you were never doing that again."

"Well… is this where I tell you I was surrogate for an alien being while mourning you?" Jack asked calmly "Apparently, my faculties are all in prime condition for a little one."

"Wait… I need a second here" Ianto rose and walked away to stand in the corner staring at the canvas as he muttered to himself and Faith watched with interest.

"Is he OK?"

"Don't worry, he always does that. Talks to himself. Apparently I drive him to it" Jack shrugged then smiled "You know… I have something for you."

"You do?" she with surprised once more as he drew something from his pocket and dangled it in front of her. A locket. A pretty finely caved locket of … bone?

"It is a Drimod Seed. From my home planet. The Drimod only bears a single fruit then dies. It is a highly prized thing to have and only the best of the best can carve a seed casing, as well as the seeds within. See? The little seeds are also carved into things. See? Flowers." Jack held it out to her "for you. A precious gift for a pretty lady."

Faith accepted it with delight, liking closely as the offering and smiling as she saw in the filigree seed pod not only flowers and birds but … yes. A circle with some little symbols attached that you would not even know was there unless you looked.

"Faith" she said softly "It says faith."

"Where?"

She traced it with her finger, and then turned it to laugh softly "And the other side here… see this? It says … timeless."

"Well… I had no idea… where? I can't see that!" Jack frowned as she laughed happily, placing it around her neck as she fingered the seed pod with affection.

"Right" Ianto sat back in his chair "So… this reading could be for me. Could be for Jack. Or not. This could all be for ourt son. The first card is the mother he will never have, the Fair Maiden the women that both me and Jack will base our motherly side on. The second card is not a tower at all, but the TARDIS in a silhouette. It is Jack and me running from it. Then the journal is the book of life… the story I shall write for my son. The lamb is our son who I will protect and watch over while my mate is gallivanting about space and time. Death will be a constant with us, but will not touch us as he respected time too. He is a thief of time, so much wasted between us already. Then we have Jack … invincible yet… needs me there to remind him as we protect our child and this planet that is his home. The Joker is our son, our reward for this."

"You see… nothing is set. The rules do not apply. We all see different reading in the same cards. Like reading tea leaves… who knows what the true story is here. But I do know Jack is already with child and this story… these stories in the cards all lead to one place and it is not the pinnacle of the pyramid. IT is beyond it. The next step is beyond the boundary… you had to take to get to the top"

"Our child. He is the 'everything' beyond the stars"

"He is the space and you are the time." Faith agreed "and nothing can pull you apart."


	11. Epilogue

"Rogue!" Jack called out as his little one crawled to close to the bushes and he rose to chase after him. For a crawler, this kid was fast and Jack cursed as he disappeared into the foliage.

"Little shit" he muttered as he leaned in to find him and extracted the child who now had a fist full of leaves which Jack then had to scold for and extract from both fists and mouth.

"Wow. So hungry he is reduced to eating vegetarian style" Ianto said as he emerged from the house with a bottle, shaking it to get the desired scream of glee from the little one and Jack laughed as he swooped the baby back up to the patio where the chair waited for him to settle and nurse his child.

"Thanks Tiger. You look dapper" Jack said as he fed the little one.

"The Doctor wanted me to look at that thing in the one of the rooms remember?" Ianto said as he adjusted his tie "and I did put him off five times."

"Well… if you come back missing an arm or a leg I will be ever so annoyed" Jack said in a silly voce as the grinding gears announced the arrival of the Doctor and she jumped out with glee, yelling and waving her arms as Rogue spat out his bottle to yell back.

"Come on… show me" Ianto demanded, shoving past and the Doctor waved merrily as she disappeared inside the TARDIS once more, leaving Jack to shake his head.

"Still don't like that one. She is so… NOT my Doctor" Jack sighed "Still… nothing last forever right?"

Rogue looked up at his lovely Daddy and grinned around the teat of his bottle as Jack laughed softly, sharing a little joke with his daredevil. His little joker. His little thief.

In the TARDIS Ianto braced himself as he knew as well as Jack did that the Doctor lied and this would be nothing like what he had been promised.

He was right.

"This is…"

"The Face of Boe" Ianto finished for him, stepping forward to stare at the huge disembodied head with interest, the eyes of the head opening slowly to stare at him. Ianto smiled softly then said gently "Hello Cariad."

The Face of Boe made a noise of delight, floating to the bottom of the jar so a tentacle could touch the glass where Ianto's hand was.

"Ianto" came a deep rumble in his mind.

"So. I know you can't tell me much. Timey wimey stuff and all that… this bloody mad woman here only able to wave her hands about like an infant so.. I will ask only one thing. Answer it if you can."

"Of course Tiger"

Ianto grinned, then asked "was it a good run? Us? Did I make you happy?"

"Oh yes" the head nodded slowly "Indeed. Always."

"Good… because… not that I would tell the 'you' of my timeline, but I will tell you now… you made me happy too." Ianto grinned "and now I see it all. The Fair maiden is standing this incarnation of the Doctor beside me, we are in a tower and the book of life is never done being written for you. I stand before you, still in love with you even as you are ready to sacrifice yourself at a moment's notice and death lurks yet the sands of time will never run out. You are my hero. Also... my joker. My life. Like a deck of cards, you have many faces and more than one suit."

The Face of Boe laughed, a deep boom that had Catkind swinging to stare with shock, not knowing this level of amusement in the old being before.

"Yes Ianto. Those cards were me. Here and now is where they lead you. Tell me… did you get to the next card?"

"Next… what? There are six. Then the Joker to make seven" Ianto canted his head then sighed "One more? Are you telling me she holds one more?"

"Ahhhhh… I could be joking"

Ianto turned to the Doctor and waved a hand "Come on. Jack may be many things but he is never wrong."

The Doctor glanced at her old friend and waved as the head watched the love of his life bound away down the stairs with the Doctor….. then step out fomr the curtina he had hidden behind during the meeting.

They smiled at one another as Ianto settled to read to his love.

.

.

.

Faith had been waiting, not knowing why but alert as the tent flap opened and Ianto entered, followed by a woman with fair hair and a slight madness to her that scared the being in a way she could not describe.

"You have a card for me!" Ianto said without pause.

"What?" Faith did not understand, then she looked at the card and waved a hand "Well… we can try."

"Do or do not, there is no try" the Doctor said, chortling as she pointed at Ianto who sighed theatrically.

"Yoda."

"Master Yoda to you young Padewan!" the Doctor scoffed then frowned "I think."

"Right. Come on" Ianto grabbing the deck and quickly shuffling it, then he slammed it down, splitting it only once then placing the bottom half on the top.

Faith extracted a card and flipped it, placing it down. Ianto's laughter filled the tent even as Faith and the Doctor stared at one another with open confusion.

A stop watch.

"Time?" the Timelord decided.

"A thief of it" Faith amended.

"A joke" Ianto clarified for both of them.

"Time is what you make of it, it is not measured by seconds but by secrets. Not by minutes but moments. Not hours but by heartbreaks and in the end… time is not measured by a life… but by love." Ianto shook his head as he patted the deck and said softly "thank you. I see it now. I must live each moment one second at a time, revel in each minute, each hour and know that it may be timeless… but it is still there living in the background. With its black robes."

"OK… now I am confused" Faith shrugged.

"Yes, but you are not a Timelord" the Doctor said with a nod of her head "Come on son. Let's go."

Ianto shook his head as he said calmly "Do you get to call me that when you have yet to birth me and give me away to the Jones family?"

"I think so. I earned that right long ago… after all… your husband would call you something else" the Doctor said as she waved to Faith who was sitting with her mouth open in confusion "But you know… he is a bit of a cad."

"You know… I may be loomed but sometimes… sometimes I swear I am a son of a bi…"

"Ah-ah-ah!" ah slapped at him playfully "Careful now. Little ears"

Ianto laughed as he shook his head "Careful my arse. I can only hear myself in the Looming Room!"

As the TARDIS ground away Faith came to stand at the flaps of the tent and whisper softly "Good luck brother. Let's hope our mad parental does not take you somewhere that stunts your growth too… I cannot WAIT for my first regeneration. I do hate to be so small… mind you… it has taught me patience."

She watched the TARDIS disappear into the ethos and shook her head, returning to her spot to wait for the next person to read.

Her Gallifreyan deck sitting by her waiting as well.

A gift from her loving brother… one day.

.

.

.

.

The End

Sorry if some of you might not get this one, it is a bit of a roundabout but in the end… it shows that like a game of cards, the hands being dealt are not always the ones you wind up with and sometimes… you might have a good hand, but the deck wins.

Faith is a child of the Doctor.

Ianto is a child of the Doctor.

Rogue is a child of Ianto and Jack.

In the end Faith knew al along the boy sitting across from her was here to read from this deck because he had gifted it to her one day for this purpose. Time is a weird thing, some things are set points and now that it is complete… I hope this mindbender was amusing to you. I did not waste your time.

More of a joker than a thief?

Then again… maybe it is the TARDIS. She is a maiden, she can betray an had been betrayed. She is a tall, upright pillar. Death cannot take her yet she knows him well. Jack is her hero yet the Joker… well… is the child that was loomed in her heart.

Ianto.

Right?

Who knows where this one came from or what it means but it annoyed me in the back of my mind until I shared it with you.


End file.
